How Sweet it is: Lewiston Keeps Pouring it on... Source: 'No Wonder Stephens Sought to aid Reiter'

A lot goes on behind the walls of this building, the Lewiston town hall, that the public never knows.

Every time we print a story on the abuses of power and/or the wrongdoings that took place during the period that Steven Reiter was the Town of Lewiston supervisor we get calls and emails from our readers. Many simply thank us for bringing these things to the light of day in the hope that these things will never happen again. But some share information that helps us fill in the gaps on the "who, what, and why."

As we previously reported, Receiver of Taxes Joan B. Stephens was seeking signatures for nominating petitions for Steve Reiter out of her office at the town hall during what should have been her working hours.

More than one person said that they were pressured into signing Reiter's petition.

At least two people who signed that petition at town hall said they did not want to sign it, but they didn't want to anger her by saying no.

Stephens didn't politely ask for signatures for Reiter either, they said, but instead simply handed the clipboard to others and said "here, sign this!"

One town hall worker said Stephens got openly angry at one person who declined to sign Reiter's petition.

Stephens asked at least one person to sign it with Reiter standing there in the hallway looking on.

One has to wonder why Stephens would be so deeply involved in supporting a man who had been the subject of investigations into corruption and misuse of town funds.

Reiter had been investigated by the state comptroller and the state attorney general, and was the subject of two investigations by the FBI.

The fact that he had been caught on video stealing from the town was common knowledge.

A longtime town employee told the Reporter that Stephens might have been afraid that if Reiter had gotten voted out, she might lose the "deal" she has with the town.

The position of tax collector is a part-time one, and, like a councilman, that office is not entitled to a full package of benefits.

But somewhere along the line Stephens was given a second part-time municipal job, which is with the water department. She handles billings, distributes work orders, and makes some minor management decisions there. So someone decided that her two part-time jobs, in separate departments, would somehow equal a full-time job and she was granted health care and other benefits that only fulltime employees are entitled to receive.

So now it makes some sense why she was working so hard for Reiter and doing anything to help a morally bankrupt politician get re-elected.

She was trying to make sure that Joan B. Stevens could keep her "special deal."

Can you blame her?